did you have your patient sign the medical release stating that they do not want treatment?

if you ask me, that lawsuit doesn't hav a leg - or in this case, a foot - to stand on.

So now we know DocBastard's next blog entry! You can heal with sterilized maggots to eat the dead tissue, but the fact that bone is exposed and gangrene is set in, it may not be savable. The patient bill of rights state you can refuse treatment... did you refuse to treat the foot or did they walk away from the suggested treatment?

Doctor, I suggest you consult a lawyer instead of FML.

To many big words.....WHY?!?!

I hope you made him sign a paper saying that he is refusing treatment.

I guess you should have asked for a court order, than used the bondage equipment in your closet to tie up this patient while you performed surgery on him.

Based on how he declined your treatment and decided to press malpractice charges over a decision he made, I doubt you were successful with getting him to sign a "refusal of treatment" form. If that is the case, I sure hope there is a section in his records where you mentioned he refused to sign it and were made aware of the risks of not immediate treatment. There is not much you can do but rely on detailed documentation to protect yourself.

Sounds like the conversation went like this: P: "I have trouble with my foot" D: "it's gone too far, you'll have to amputate" P: "I want you to FIX my foot not cut it off!" D: "There is nothing I can do to repair the damage" P: "see you in court!"